Literasi Media: Ke Arah Melahirkan Pengguna Media Berpengetahuan

Members of society are exposed to various types of mass media, including print, electronic and digital. The various types of media construct prevailing reality and the constructed reality is presented to media users. A study to understand media literacy among secondary school children who are users of media was carried out. The study uses Potter (2004) model for media literacy which stresses on knowledge structure, personal locus, competencies and skills, and information processing tools. A focus group study was carried out with 10 form four secondary schools students from four schools in Selangor as informants. The findings suggest that students living in the urban areas have better understanding on media literacy as compared to their counterparts living in rural areas. This can be attributed to disparate background of families, environment, living standards, and social status. Although this maybe the case, students in rural areas have the opportunity to improve their media literacy level if they are given formal training on how to use the media